6 last-minute treats for Santa that the kids can help make

The big man is set to arrive in just less than 48 hours! Word from the North Pole is that if you leave Santa something extra tasty, he’ll throw in a little extra something for mom. That — and having “leftovers” — is reason enough to make one of these 6 delicious holiday snacks. So pull the kids into the kitchen: it’s time to make treats for Santa!

Cookies are traditional, but these chocolate and caramel dipped marshmallows (above) from One Charming Party are chic and modern. Easy to make, too. (No oven!) These are fun to make with the kids and look gorgeous, especially topped off with crushed candy canes.

Starting with the classics, my little one and I recently whipped up two of our favorite easy, last-minute Santa snacks on my own blog, One Hungry Mama. We even made a video to prove how quickly these recipes come together! First up is a classic Reindeer Chow party mix, a sweet-and-salty mix of cereal, pretzels, and melted peanut butter and chocolate, all covered in powdered sugar. YUM.

Then we baked the easiest, and possibly most delicious, cookies known to man: Peanut Butter-Nutella Thumbprint Cookies. This recipe is as easy as baking gets: the batter for these naturally gluten-free cookies comes together in one bowl in 3 minutes.

Anytime you pair cookies and cream, I — I mean, Santa — is in. But now slather the combination in white chocolate and add candy canes. Irresistible! This Cookies and Cream Peppermint Bark from Shutterbean will earn your family mega points with jolly ol’ St. Nick. Oh, and I love that half of the recipe is bashing ingredients. It’s perfect for those of you who, like me, have kids who need to release that kind of energy.

Inspired by cereal milk, a sweet drink that tastes like the milk at the end of a bowl of cereal, made famous by Momofuku Milk Bar, Sarah at Brit + Co has created Cookie Milk for a treat that’s a little more unexpected. Sarah soaks cookies in milk, then strains them so that you’re left with a drink that has the delicious taste of, yup, cookies dunked in milk. I love this take on milk and cookies for the big man on the run. Or, you know, the tired mom who’ll be up all night wrapping gifts. Just know it won’t be as good as leftovers in the morning the way regular cookies will.

I’ve seen a lot of Santa-inspired treats using strawberries, but most of them require you to hollow out individual berries which strikes me as tedious for parents, and hard for smaller hands. So I was excited to find these deliciously simple Strawberry Santa Hats on Knead to Cook. You only need 4 ingredients and minimal patience to make these. Now that’s my kind of recipe for when I’m cooking with kids.